Mariam Mokhtar on what happened to Umno after Tunku Abdul Rahman (repost)

The happiest PM in the world

Tunku Abdul Rahman (1903-1990)

The Tunku once described himself as “the happiest prime minister” when he was interviewed in 1983, by Peter Hastings, the foreign editor of the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH).

Today, as we read about Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, and the tactics used against the rakyat, NGOs, civil liberty groups and the opposition, we see a man who resorts to foul play, even breaking the law if necessary, to prolong his political career and that of his party, Umno.

Perhaps, what the Tunku possessed and what his successors lack is a sense of humour. Behind the calm purpose of his jokes, Tunku was able to show his spirit of tolerance.

Tunku laughed when Hastings reminded him of the time an Islamic group had sought the Tunku’s support for adulterers to be stoned to death and he had replied: “There are not enough stones in Malaysia.”

In his biography, ‘Tunku: His Life and Times’, the Tunku is described as looking resplendent in his morning coat and top hat, when he posed with Think Big, the race horse which won the Melbourne Cup in 1975. Just before he went up to receive the winner’s trophy, Tunku swopped his top hat for a black songkok and as the cup was placed in his hands, said: “I thank God for our victory”, a phrase which he repeated later that night at the Victory Cup Ball.

Those who knew Tunku would remember that most of his dinners ended-up on the dance-floor. He revived the Ronggeng (a Malay dance) and foreign dignitaries were invited to dance with their Malay hostesses. With this method, he succeeded in diplomacy, both foreign and domestic, something which would be impossible to replicate in today’s intolerant Malaysia.

The current crop of Malay leaders would never dare emulate Tunku by pursuing their hobbies openly, or even attribute gambling successes to God. They’d rather lie, for the sake of political expediency.

Many Malays of today are two-faced. The pious façade they present to the public is only to advance themselves in politics or to gain commercial advantage. It is widely known that prominent Malays including high-ranking members of the civil service, including the judiciary and police, have private poker sessions. The only time they don’t hide from the public eye, is when they are abroad.

So, why is gaming in casinos and betting on horses prohibited, but corruption allowed? Why should politicians be allowed to play Russian roulette with taxpayer’s money but individual Malays prevented from gambling with their own money?

In the SMH interview, Tunku was asked his views on the Look East policy of the prime minister of the time, Mahathir Mohamad. Tunku said: “Look east? Why should I? I have always liked to look in all directions.”

‘I like people to be happy’

At a birthday party in Kuala Lumpur in 1987, Tunku abandoned his prepared text and towards the end of his speech repeated his scorn for Mahathir: “Whether we look East or West, we shall always be friends with England.”

Tunku told Hastings (SMH) about the influence of the Islamic traditionalists and drinking mores of the Malaysian politicians of the 80s: “It is changing. I used to provide scotch, brandy and champagne at my banquets. The people did not mind. They are tolerant, but Tun Razak, my successor, never liked it. He feared the political consequences. I like people to be happy.”

The Tunku comes across as a normal human being, one the rakyat feels comfortable with. He did not hide behind the veil of hypocrisy, unlike his successors.

Perhaps, the Tunku’s “what you see is what you get” attitude endeared him to the public, rather than the sham public face which many of his successors wear.

When Tunku was advised to stop drinking alcohol at one of the earlier Umno meetings, he said: “People must accept me as I am: my bad habits and my virtues. At the age of 48, I cannot change them.”

Like other prominent Malay families, Tunku sent his daughter to study as a boarder at the Light Street Convent in Penang. Today, church halls have to remove crucifixes and other emblems of Christianity when Umno leaders are present. Umno expects people of other faiths to respect Muslims and Islam, but thinks nothing of trampling on the rights of other faiths, or accusing them of taking over the country, simply to rile the Malays.

Mahathir exploited the vulnerability of the Malays and gave the Umno Malays legal protection, in the same way that wildlife organisations protect endangered plants and animals. Mahathir made it an offence for anyone to threaten the Umno Malays by changing the environmental, or other parameters, in which the Umno Malays would thrive.

Two weeks ago, Najib argued that successful Malaysian women risked making men “an endangered species”. He is wrong. What he meant was that Umno Malays are the world’s most protected species.

Didn’t Mahathir and Najib learn in school, that if you take an animal from the wild and domesticate it, the animal soon forgets to fend for itself?

Bred in captivity

Successive generations of Umno Malays have been bred in captivity and have become dependent on the food from their keeper. If released into their natural settings, Umno Malays will die. Like most caged animals, they have become lazy and obese. Their mental processes deteriorate because they lack the stimuli necessary for survival. Umno Malays could be weaned off their bad habits, but Umno will never allow that to happen.

If the zookeepers (Umno leaders) have no animals (Umno Malays) to take care of, then they are out of a job.

In today’s Malaysia, the fund for maintaining the Umno zoo is running low. The keepers have siphoned off most of the takings from the zoo. With food stocks running low, portions are small and feeding is erratic. The animals are distressed. They have been used to large meals, at any time of day, not just at feeding times.

These are dangerous times. The animals are waiting to pounce. One wrong move and the keeper becomes their next meal. Those of us watching from outside the cage would then be happiest. If Umno Malays refuse to be mentally liberated now, they run the risk of extinction.

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MARIAM MOKHTAR is a non-conformist traditionalist from Perak, a bucket chemist and an armchair eco-warrior. In ‘real-speak', this translates into that she comes from Ipoh, values change but respects culture, is a petroleum chemist and also an environmental pollution-control scientist.

[Published 15 October 2012 in Malaysiakini. Posted here 16 October. Thanks, Mariam! You are indeed a precious gem.]

Malaysia under UMNO ~ morphing from Apartheid to Nazism (updated)

UMNO is now hell-bent on serving only Malays. After all the Malays now form about 60% of the population and UMNO is going to increase the figure to 90% if not 99.99%. UMNO wants to make sure Malaysia is turned to a country just for the Malays.

The non-Malays can “balik negeri” (go back to their ancestral lands). After all, the Malayan peninsula was dubbed Tanah Melayu, not Tanah Cina, not Tanah India, not even Tanah Asli. Never mind that the term “Melayu” is more a political construct than a tribal grouping (like the Orang Asli) - since Malays comprise a diverse mix of genetics ranging from Austronesian, Micronesian, Sulawesian, Javanese, and Sumatran to Cambodian, Chinese, Thai, Filipino, Burmese, Indian, Turkish, Yemeni, and Arab. In the last century, a generous amount of Anglo-European DNA has also been added to the cocktail.

Indeed, the name Malaya derives not so much from being the Land of Malays as it does from the Tamil word for mountain, malai. As recently as 13,000 years ago, you could walk from what is now Peninsular Malaysia to Sumatra and Java. As the last glacial period ended, around 10,800 BCE, the sea level rose as much as 360 feet, creating what colonial geographers call the Malay Archipelago. 

In effect, Tanah Melayu is merely an unfounded claim – so long as a single Orang Asli insists he or she is NOT Melayu. Which is why the Orang Asli Affairs Department (JAKOA) has taken on the mission of systematically “assimilating” the Orang Asli through conversion to Islam. An anthropologist wryly noted that the Malays want the Orang Asli to become Malays – so they themselves can lay claim to being Orang Asli!

The fact that the United Malays Nationalist Organisation is better known as UMNO than Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu or PKMB reveals its colonial origins. The British worked out a deal with the Malay aristocracy, represented by Tunku Abdul Rahman, which would grant a semblance of political independence to Malaya – while allowing Britain to retain a firm grip on Malaya’s rich natural resources.

In short, UMNO was founded on a gigantic deception. That’s why they tend to spend so much energy and money on propaganda, hype and braggadocio, to cover up their deep-seated insecurity. Originally, the bulk of UMNO members were schoolteachers, junior civil servants, fishermen and farmers. By the time the party was declared illegal by Justice Harun Hashim in February 1988, it was largely populated by contractors, small entrepreneurs, and professional rent-seekers.

In its new incarnation as UMNO BARU, it became an extension of Mahathir Mohamad’s insatiable lust for wealth and the power it brings. A breed of instant Bumi billionaires was artificially created by Mahathir, with the help of his finance minister Daim Zainuddin, as a personal power base. 

This gave rise to the UMNOputra or nouveau riche ruling elite who began to taste the intoxication of seemingly limitless wealth, luxury, and political influence. 

Every UMNO warlord who made his first million desired to imitate the regal lifestyles of the Sultans – so they went on to making their first billion - or, rather, stealing it.

To maintain their grip on the national purse-strings, they needed the unquestioning support of the rural Malays, whom they began to deliberately dumb-down by manipulating the education system and controlling the mass media. Having replaced English with Malay as the medium of instruction, they realized the advantages of effectively keeping the rural Malays monolingual and monocultural – insulated from outside influences and sheep-like in their religious indoctrination.

The various stages of UMNO’s strategy

Initially UMNO sought independence with the support of all the races. The British taught them how to divide and rule by establishing race-based political parties like the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) and Malayan Indian Congress (MIC). There weren’t enough Eurasians to warrant a Malayan Eurasian Party; and the humble Orang Asli were a long way from demanding their own political lobby.

Lee Kuan Yew announcing Singapore's departure
from the Federation of Malaysia, 9 August 1965

For the first ten years, the nation progressed smoothly and grew into a larger political federation with the inclusion of Singapore, Sarawak and North Borneo (now Sabah). It didn’t take long for the Malay elite to realize that with Singapore’s entry into the equation, the Chinese community would become much larger than they felt comfortable with. Lee Kuan Yew’s vision of a powerful modern state driven by business acumen, drawing on vast natural resources, and cosmopolitan in outlook stirred deep unease among the UMNO elite.

They knew the Chinese would soon control the economy – as they already did the urban areas – and the Malays would be at a severe disadvantage, because of their strong attachment to traditions which made them reluctant to embrace globalism - unlike the Chinese, Indians and Eurasians who, as migrant races, were far more open to foreign ideas. Singapore had to be expelled before the Yellow Peril could take root.

Abdul Razak Hussein

In 1969 a cabal of educated middle-class Malays in UMNO were seized by chauvinistic fervor. They became impatient to wrest power from the traditional elite, the Anglophilic Malay aristocracy symbolized by Tunku Abdul Rahman. 

Their own Sultans were so enamored of British culture, they often spent more time in London visiting the Queen than in their own states. Indeed, Sultan Abu Bakar of Johore was rumored to have been Queen Victoria’s secret paramour, and in the UK he preferred to be called Albert Baker.

Stirring up existing tensions between the Chinese and Malays was easily accomplished and this led to an outbreak of racial violence triggered by UMNO’s poor showing in the first nationwide elections held on 10 May 1969. 

This was the golden opportunity the young Malay nationalist cabal led by Razak Hussein had been awaiting. If the riots had been a spontaneous eruption of racial animosities, the police and military forces could have established a strict curfew and brought the violence under control within 48 hours. Instead, the killings were allowed to go on for several weeks with a total loss of life and property that has never been fully tallied.

With Razak Hussein taking over from Tunku Abdul Rahman, UMNO began to remake the nation after its own chauvinistic and opportunistic image. The New Economic Policy was introduced, followed by a National Cultural Policy aimed at sidelining “foreign” cultures. Soon the Biro Tatanegara (National Ideology Bureau) was initiated to indoctrinate civil servants with the spurious concept of Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy). 

Taib Mahmud

In Sarawak where the robber baron Taib Mahmud reigned unchallenged as Chief Minister for 32 years, UMNO was unable to gain a foothold. With a majority population of Orang Asal (indigenous tribes) – many of whom were Christianized by missionaries during the days of Rajah Brooke – the only way UMNO could make its oppressive presence felt was through attempts to turn them into Malays, just as they have been doing with the peninsular Orang Asli. 

To achieve this, UMNO had to first discourage them from practicing Christianity – hence the brouhaha over the use of Allah in the Malay-language Bible or Alkitab.

Even as hollow slogans like “1Malaysia” were coined at enormous expense, UMNO’s apartheid mentality has become increasingly obnoxious and overt – especially since losing its two-thirds parliamentary majority (again) in March 2008. Efforts to instigate a fresh round of racial violence after the 12th general election quickly fizzled out because Malaysians across the racial spectrum have become far more savvy since the internet destroyed UMNO/BN’s absolute monopoly on newspapers and television.

No longer is it possible to pretend that it’s about Malays versus Chinese. Enough Malays have become educated and well-traveled to realize that it’s really about integrity versus disintegrity.

Nothing to do with race or religion – and even less to do with royalty, which most Malaysians have come to accept as an unfortunate fact of life that can only be redressed when enough of us view ourselves as Malaysians.

UMNO is not at all worried about the brain drain - even though many who have migrated elsewhere include a large number of Malays, the ones with ability, intelligence and integrity. After all, UMNO depends entirely on compliant, semi-literate, rent-seeking Malays with an inferiority complex to maintain its voter base – and, alas, there are still vast numbers of these around, even after two generations of special privileges and preferential treatment.

UMNO is bad by design and for a purpose

Part of the post-1969 UMNO agenda was to completely dominate the economy, making it difficult for non-Malays to succeed in business. This UMNO attempted to achieve by setting up so many bureaucratic obstacles that the non-Malay business community was compelled to resort to bribery. 

Having accepted the bribes, they then turned around and accused the Chinese of being  a corrupting influence. UMNO itself, of course, has acquired a species of magical immunity to corruption – mainly by planting cronies in key law enforcement positions.

UMNO knows it is corrupt, dishonest, arrogant and extravagant - but will never admit it. With the rise of an educated, well-informed, urban middle class clamoring loudly for reform, UMNO’s only response has been to revert to heavy-handed authoritarianism, clamping down hard on dissent and setting loose the police on the political opposition and activists – instead of on increasingly powerful crime syndicates, the real threats to peace and security.

Even as Zionist Israelis learned from the Nazis how to oppress the Palestinians, UMNO Malays have learned from the Zionists how to go the whole hog towards fascistic Nazism. 

It appears that the Great Transformer, Najib son of Razak, has only managed since 5 May 2013, to transform Barisan Nasional into Barisan Nazional – with a little help, of course, from a hand-picked Attorney-General, Home Minister, and Inspector-General of Police. 

Published 3 November 2013 in Malaysia Chronicle [First posted 14 January 2014; reposted 18 September 2014 & 25 February 2016]

Razakstan? Don't wanna go there!

Lies rule in Razakstan
Dean Johns | Malaysiakini
15 June 2011 | 12:44pm

As long as Dr Mahathir Mohamad is still breathing, Najib Abdul Razak can't be accused of being the world's most pathological liar. But that doesn't stop him striving for the number one spot.

Posing as an enlightened leader of a progressive Malaysia and preaching reform, inclusiveness, integrity and good governance around the world Najib (right) presides over a corrupt, repressive and outright criminal Razakstan of his own.

He was at it again last week, jetting off to Kazakhstan with 250 of his closest relatives and cronies to treat the World Islamic Economic Forum to a dose of his sanctimonious, hypocritical drivel.

"Good governance should come naturally for Muslim nations," he declared, going on to claim that Muslim nations have long known that "justice, equity, probity and prosperity for all, including women," as advocated by the fourth caliph, son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, "are not merely the preserve of Western democracies."

"Governing as Ali ordered with justice, equity and probity," he continued, was "not about falling in line with Western attitudes, but acting in line with Quranic teachings."

Unfortunately, however, Quranic teachings appear to have little to no effect on the government of any Muslim-majority nation on the planet, very much including Najib's own.

In fact, for all the imperfections of the Western democracies, they are the only source of hope, inspiration and protection for people denied justice, equity and probity by Quran-defying governments from the Middle East to Africa and Asia. Russia couldn't care less, and China is always on the side of its fellow suppressors of the people.

Razakstan-style regimes wreak havoc

So it's the Western democracies that are spending untold quantities of blood, sweat, tears and treasure on protecting the people of Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya from the malevolence of their Muslim governments. And it's Western democracies that are exerting political, financial and legal pressure to persuade the rulers of Syria, Iran, Pakistan and dozens of other Razakstan-style regimes to stop robbing and killing their citizens.

In his speech to the gathering in Kazakhstan, Najib tried to excuse the appalling state of Muslim governments, with the disclaimer that "in a world characterised by unbridled political influence, unequal competition and opportunities, strong family ties, unlimited greed, inadequate rules and regulations and poor enforcement, good governance is easier said than done."

Then, ignoring the fact that the aforesaid "unbridled political influence, unequal competition and opportunities, strong family ties, unlimited greed, inadequate rules and regulations and poor enforcement" all-too-accurately describes his own Umno/BN regime, he went on to present Malaysia as a paragon of progress.

"Numerous initiatives and measures to inculcate good values and ethical conduct, integrity and efforts to combat corruption in all sectors of society have been introduced," he lied, given that all of these so-called 'measures' are nothing but cosmetic.

Najib then added insult to perjury by claiming that "in order to provide a healthy mechanism of checks and balances, the government also welcomed comments and views from within its own institutions as well as from religious organisations, minority groups, the media and business."

This glowing portrait of Malaysia as an oasis of reform in a desert of Muslim-government turpitude is simply too preposterous for words, considering that Najib has absolutely no intention to reform what it actually his own Razakstan.

Reality far from expectations

Far from aspiring to the "good values, ethical conduct and integrity" that Najib claims, his regime conceals its financial and other crimes against the Malaysian people with an Official Secrets Act as draconian as any on earth.

Far from combating corruption, the Najib regime employs the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) as its shock-troops, security guards and assassins.

Far from welcoming sundry comments and views from all, it employs the nation's media as its paid propagandists and suppresses free speech by means of its appalling Printing, Presses and Publications Act.

And far from promoting religious and racial unity, as Najib's fake "1Malaysia" slogan pretends to proclaim, the government does its damndest to foment discord through the regime-owned gutter 'newspaper' Utusan Malaysia and through race-hate pressure groups like Perkasa (or, as I prefer to think of it, Pukeasa).

Despite the dire reality of his Razakstan regime, however, Najib had the gall to issue a rallying call to his partners-in-crime at the Kazakhstan conference to join him on "a journey that does not end until good governance truly becomes the mainstream value of all Muslim nations."

And no sooner had he returned from his Kazakhstan jaunt to be in full cry again during the opening of the Wasatiyyah Convention at the First Millennium of Islam in the Archipelago in Putridjaya, calling on Muslims "to set their house in order first before they can become the guiding light for mankind, like their forefathers."

"Why is it that corruption, maladministration, mismanagement and inefficiency are often associated with the administration of an Islamic state when we know that Islamic teachings, as contained in the Quran and the sunnah of the Prophet, can serve as guidance?" he asked.

Precisely the question I've been asking myself, and in fact the entire civilised world has been asking of rulers of Razakstan-style regimes for what seems like forever.

Cruel intentions made clear

Not that Muslim nations are by any means on their own in the gruesome-government department. Buddhist Burma, the Catholic Philippines and Kim-worshipping North Korea, to name just a few, are all as bad if not worse than their Islamic counterparts.

In fact religion or the lack thereof has nothing to do with government criminality - a point Najib is demonstrating by his willingness to extend an ecumenical welcome to two of the world's arch-criminals for the Langkawi International Dialogue on June 19 to 21.

The Muslim president of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, has the dubious distinction of being the first serving head of state to be indicted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, and is now a fugitive from justice.

And Robert Mugabe, the non-Muslim dictator of Zimbabwe, an old crony of former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir, is one of the most reviled figures on the international stage, having spent decades destroying his nation's economy and civil institutions.

Consorting with such scum provides the ultimate example of Najib's fraudulent attempts to be perceived as a reformer, let alone a 'religious' one, and once and for all demonstrates the reality of his intention to keep running - and ruining - Malaysia like some kind of Umno/BN Razakstan.

DEAN JOHNS, after many years in Asia, currently lives with his Malaysian-born wife and daughter in Sydney, where he mentors creative writing groups. Already published in Kuala Lumpur is a third book of his columns for Malaysiakini, following earlier collections 'Mad about Malaysia' and 'Even Madder about Malaysia'.


[Cloned from Malaysiakini with thanks. Dean Johns has done it again by coming up with Razakstan to describe the pitiable state of affairs in Malaysia under bandit and pirate misrule!]